1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved system for improving the heat insulating characteristics of an existing wall structure. The invention embodies both an apparatus for providing an additional, insulating panel in spaced relation with an existing panel of the wall structure and may also include insulating cover elements for improving the heat insulating characteristics of the surround structure that is supporting the existing wall panel. A novel method of fabricating and installing an additional insulating sash is provided which takes into account dimensional discrepancies and/or misalignment of the elements of the existing wall structure. The system is capable of handling unlevel, out of plumb and misaligned elements of an existing wall with a minimal amount of special attention being required, even though such an existing wall structure would render other prior art types of insulating systems virtually useless.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent decades, many office buildings and commercial structures have been built employing wall systems having a relatively large percentage of the wall area provided by single thickness glass panels supported in a framework made up of relatively narrow or thin elongated horizontal and vertical metal elements. Because heat and cooling energy costs were not especially significant economic factors at the time many of these buildings were originally built, the emphasis on architectural design and aesthetic values greatly overshadowed any concerns because of heating and cooling costs. Accordingly, a great many of these types of buildings are well designed and nice looking from an appearance standpoint, but have rather poor heat insulating characteristics in the present day economic environment. With the advent of the energy crisis and greatly increased energy costs, emphasis has now been placed on improving the heat insulating characteristics of these types of buildings but, as yet, most of the improvement systems offered or available have many disadvantages from both a cost and an aesthetic point of view. For example, some systems proposed involve the complete removal of the existing single thickness glazing panes and the replacement thereof with new and expensive dual thickness, insulating glass panels. This procedure in addition to being extremely costly results in a substantial disruption of the normal usage of the building during the conversion process. The glass panels that are removed without breaking are often not reused for other purposes and are simply thrown away or destroyed resulting in a substantial economic loss. In addition, many systems presently offered appreciably damage the overall architectural beauty of the building because of wide or large coverings over the existing framing elements to such an extent that the general appearance of a building after the conversion is radically different. Another conversion system being proposed is to provide additional or second insulating glazing panels which are permanently sealed in place with respect to the existing panels, but to effect this type of permanent seal is a very costly and sometimes unsuccessful endeavor in that the air space between the existing and added panels must be void of moisture and other contaminants and the glass panels themselves must be carefully cleaned and maintained in this condition before and during the sealing process so that permanent streaks, smudges and/or other obstructions to vision in the panels are not present.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system for improving the heat insulating characteristics of an existing wall structure and more particularly a new and improved system which eliminates or minimizes many or all of the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art systems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of increasing the heat insulating characteristics of existing wall structures in an economical and aesthetically sound manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for improving the heat insulating characteristics of an existing wall structure and more particularly an apparatus which provides greatly improved heat insulating characteristics without diminishing the overall appearance and beauty of the existing building structure and without substantial disruption of the normal usage of the building.